


Ten Minutes

by MeganRosenberg



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: Asthma, Attempted Sexual Assault, Bullies, Cuddling & Snuggling, Friendship, Gen, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Hurt/Comfort, Male Friendship, POV Eddie Kaspbrak, POV Richie Tozier, Protective Richie Tozier, Protectiveness, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Assault, Swearing, Threats, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Threats of Violence, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-19
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-10-21 12:34:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20693603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeganRosenberg/pseuds/MeganRosenberg
Summary: Henry Bowers, Patrick Hockstetter, and Belch Huggins find Eddie walking home all alone and unleash their cruelty on the smaller boy. While Patrick and Henry begin to escalate to a disturbingly harsh and perverse degree, Belch second-guesses his willingness to go along with his friends. (Richie plays a large role in this too - Eddie's and Richie's relationship is about what it is in the 2017 movie. You can read into it however you choose. They're baby thirteen year olds, but they definitely love each other in one way or another.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: The timeline here is a little wonky... I wanted them to have school still, and I know in the movie at least they didn't start seeing IT or form the entirety of the Losers Club until the summer... But IT is only mentioned in here anyway and Eddie and Richie are the only characters besides the Bowers gang to make an appearance, so it barely matters. Just note, for the sake of Eddie being quite reasonably on-edge, both the Bowers gang and Pennywise are threats looming in the back of his mind - even if the timeline doesn't fully line up.

xxxxxx

Chapter 1

xxxxxx

"Can't walk with you today, Eds." Richie shrugged as he slammed his locker and turned to face Eddie. "Sorry."

Eddie felt his shoulders slump. "What? Why?" He frowned. He didn't like walking alone. It seemed every time he walked home alone, something terrifying happened. Especially lately.

"I've got detention. Remember?" Richie frowned as well.

"And you're actually going to go to it?" Eddie felt actual shock. Richie never went to detention. He got detention all the time. Eddie couldn't remember one instance of his friend actually attending.

Richie shrugged. "School's been calling my mom, so she knows I'm supposed to be there, and they're gonna call her again if I don't go. Probably give me detentions for a whole week. She's gonna be pissed if I make this worse. It's just an hour, so I figure I might as well do it so I don't have to listen to her bitch for two or three hours instead."

Eddie sighed. "Alright..." He grabbed his back pack straps nervously, pulling the bag closer to his back. Somehow doing that gave him an unfounded sense of security. The bag was already snugly in place. He didn't know why pulling at the straps made him feel safer, but it did. "Guess I'll see you tomorrow." He shrugged.

"You could stay an hour..." Richie frowned, clearly sensing his smaller friend's unease. "Hang out in the library until detention's over... Then I can walk with you." He offered.

Eddie shook his head. "My mom worries if I'm not home on time. When I went to get ice cream with you guys last week without telling her, she flipped her shit. I'm surprised she didn't report me missing."

"That took like thirty minutes." Richie frowned.

Eddie shrugged. "You know my mom..."

"Yeah I do." Richie smirked, making a kissing gesture.

"Shut the fuck up." Eddie reached out and shoved Richie's shoulder.

Richie laughed for a moment, then frowned and exhaled, still obviously considering Eddie having to walk on his own to be a problem. "Did you ask Bill or someone if they'd walk with you?"

"They left already. I was counting on you being able to." Eddie forced a nervous laugh. "It's fine though, really. Don't worry about it. I'm being paranoid." And maybe he was. He wasn't a child. Well, he was, but not a tiny child. He was a teenager now. He could walk by himself. He needed to grow up and be brave. He needed to be normal.

Richie looked down the hallway toward the classroom where he was meant to go to detention, then looked back at Eddie. "I could just skip..." He offered.

"No. Don't get yourself in trouble. I'll be fine." Eddie promised. "I'm being crazy. We walk home together all the time. Nothing ever attacks me... I mean, usually. It's like, safety in numbers, but that only makes sense when you consider the extra person could defend against whatever, but you never have to. We're always fine in the end. I can get home by myself. I'm not six years old. Don't worry about it." He tugged his back pack straps tight.

"You sure?" Richie's eyebrows rose as he pushed his glasses up his nose. "Extra detentions won't kill me... I can skip..."

"No, don't, Richie..." Eddie shook his head. "I'm fine."

"Really?" Richie frowned.

Eddie nodded. "Um hm." He forced a smile. "See you tomorrow."

"See ya." Richie called as Eddie started making his way down the hallway.

Eddie's fake-smile dissolved as soon as he was facing away from his friend. He really hated walking by himself... but surely he'd be fine. He made his way outside and started down the sidewalk. He didn't live that far away - not if he took a short cut through the park, and another short cut through a small stretch of woods. Of course, that would further exclude him, meaning anyone or anything wanting to prey upon him would have an easier time not being spotted by any passerby... Not that any passerby would help Eddie anyway. People in Derry seemed selectively blind as far as bullies or terrifying clown monsters were concerned.

He continued walking, trying to convince himself that he was going to be fine. He and his friends walked all over town all the time. They went into the woods, played in or near abandoned buildings and vacant lots - places where there would be no witnesses if someone attacked them... And a majority of the time, they were fine. They were safe. Nothing bad happened.

But of course, that was when he was with them - not by himself. Being alone, there were all sorts of crazy things that could happen to him. The clown could find him again - which tended to happen more when he was alone than when he wasn't... The Bowers gang could corner him - also something that happened more when he was alone...

Eddie pulled his back pack straps close again and picked up his pace. He wanted to be home. He didn't want to be out here walking by himself.

As he walked, he looked nervously around. Hardly anyone else was outside. He neared the park, which was also deserted. That was both good and bad. It didn't look like Henry Bowers or his band of sociopaths were out and about... but if the clown showed up, no one would be around to help him... Not that It was afraid to attack him and his friends right out in the open. Everyone else always just looked at them like they were crazy.

Nearing the woods, Eddie picked up his pace. He was halfway home. The woods was kind of a scary part of the trek, but he was making notable progress. He'd be home soon.

There was a curfew, and although it wasn't time for that yet, people were being understandably cautious. Most parents required their kids to come straight home. Lots of parents picked their kids up from school so they wouldn't have to walk. Eddie was surprised his own mother didn't demand to meet him at the school's front door so she could walk home with him - make sure nothing went wrong. That would have been embarrassing as all hell, but today, Eddie almost wished she would have done so anyway.

Eddie's steps were quick as he pulled his back pack close. He stopped and breathed in a sharp breath when he was sure he heard twigs and dried leaves crunching behind him. Spinning quickly and breathlessly around, he looked at the worn path he and other kids used when passing through. No one was there.

Swallowing, Eddie turned back around and walked even faster, feeling his heart pounding in his chest, his anxiety building. It was probably just a deer. It had to be. He couldn't let himself think otherwise.

Eddie shrunk down when he heard the sound again. He turned quickly around, frowning at the emptiness behind him. "Hello?" He called out in a small, shaking voice. No one answered... Which was good. He didn't really want an answer. Not unless it was one of his friends.

With a measured inhale, Eddie turned back around and walked faster and faster, almost jogging by this point. Then suddenly, he was stopped, when someone or something grabbed his backpack and pulled him back so hard he was sent backwards, onto the forest floor.

With a sharp gasp as he landed in such a way that his breath was knocked entirely out of his lungs, Eddie looked up and around himself, not sure whether he'd rather see the clown, one of It's terrifying manifestations, or one or more of the Bowers gang. He really hoped it was just Richie being accidentally overly rough... but he knew it wasn't. Richie wouldn't pull on him that hard. Probably couldn't even if he wanted to.

The first face he saw was that of Belch, Henry Bowers's loud, obnoxious, rather brutish friend - the one that didn't seem as obviously cruel as the others, but also didn't seem to have much of a problem doing the bidding of his terrible friends. He was more annoying than anything, but being an accomplice to Henry and Patrick made him terrifying still. He must have been the one to pull Eddie's back pack. The strength in the gesture was obvious.

"Walking all alone, Girly Boy?" Henry's voice laughed from Eddie's left.

Eddie turned his head to look at him. He felt himself shaking. He felt his breaths increasing. He itched to reach into his fanny pack and grab his inhaler, whether he truly needed it just yet or not, just to feel it in his hand, to know it was there... But he knew if he tried for it, one of the older boys would grab it from him.

"Didn't you hear kids were going missing?" Belch laughed. "Not a great idea for at tiny little boy like yourself to be walking alone in the woods."

"We could make you go missing." Henry smirked.

Eddie couldn't bring himself to speak. He didn't know what he'd say anyway. There wasn't anything that could be said to convince these guys to walk away and let this end so soon. They'd cornered him, and they weren't going to leave until they did something mean.

"Get up." Patrick's voice growled from Eddie's right.

Swallowing nervously, Eddie turned toward the sound, feeling himself shrink down slightly as his breaths became even more frantic. Patrick, as always, looked overly angry, his stare cold and detached. Henry was the obvious leader of the gang, but Patrick seemed a lot more cruel - in a quiet sort of way. Before the clown showed up, Eddie was legitimately convinced Patrick and maybe Henry were the ones making kids 'disappear.'

"Get up!" Patrick screamed again, kicking out at Eddie's ribs rather viciously.

Eddie gasped and grabbed at his side, trying to scramble away as he choked out pained breaths and held his ribs with a shaking hand. He could barely breathe as the sharp pain from Patrick's harsh kick radiated through his ribs. He could hear laughter from the older boys as he struggled just to breathe.

"Come one, Wheezy. Just stand up." Henry laughed, grabbing at Eddie's arm and dragging him up to his feet.

"Get off of me!" Eddie cried out, his voice shaking with unshed tears.

Henry laughed harder, squeezing his hand tightly around Eddie's forearm, then letting go only to reach out and shove him very hard against his shoulders, sending him right back down to the ground with a pained, choked breath.

Eddie closed his eyes and coughed, trying to catch his breath until he felt hands on him again. He immediately began thrashing, trying to break whoever's hold on him. "Let me go!" He demanded, kicking out as he opened his eyes to see who it was. It was Patrick this time, and as soon as Eddie managed to kick the older boy in the shin, he immediately regretted fighting back at all.

"You little piece of shit..." Patrick growled, rage in his eyes as he squeezed both his hands tight around Eddie's upper-arms. "You're gonna fuckin' pay for that."

Eddie's eyes widened as he shook his head. "I'm sorry..." He gasped. "I didn't mean to..." His breaths were so short. He felt so light headed. He needed his inhaler. He couldn't reach it now though. Patrick held both of his arms really, really tightly.

"Hold onto him." Patrick demanded as he viciously shoved the smaller boy toward Belch.

Eddie whimpered as he stumbled into the other boy's arms, crashing rather roughly against his broad torso. Belch immediately grabbed Eddie's arms and held him tight, as ordered.

"Turn him around." Patrick demanded, as Eddie was presently facing toward the largest of the boys. Belch did as ordered, forcing Eddie to face out toward Henry and Patrick. He grabbed Eddie's back pack off his his shoulders and threw it to the side, then pressed the smaller boy's back against his chest.

"I didn't mean to..." Eddie repeated, shaking his head again as Patrick stared at him with a strange, angry, yet excited look in his eyes.

"What do you wanna do with him, boys?" Henry laughed, pulling a small metallic object out of his pants pocket.

Eddie's brows furrowed. At first he didn't know what it was... But it soon became very clear, when Henry flipped a switch on the object and a blade shot up.

Eddie's jaw dropped and his heart felt frozen in his chest as he stared from the knife, up to Henry's face. The older boy looked way too happy. "I didn't mean to kick him..." Eddie shook his head, trying to shrink back against Belch's chest. "Please... I didn't mean to... It was like a reflex. You guys were grabbing me... I was just scared. I wasn't thinking. I didn't mean to kick out... I was panicking... I didn't mean to kick him..." He found himself stammering, repeating himself as his breaths became more and more short and painful.

"You didn't mean to?" Henry repeated with a laugh. "What did you mean to do then? Why kick out at someone if you don't mean to hit 'em? Maybe I'm not gonna mean to do this." Henry's arm shot out, stabbing toward Eddie.

Eddie let out a terrified scream as he squeezed his eyes shut and cowered down as much as possible. He whimpered and sobbed as he could hardly move, but soon found that he wasn't experiencing any additional pain. Did Henry stab him? It had looked like he was going to.

Eddie felt himself shaking as he opened his eyes and looked down at himself, bringing his trembling hands toward his stomach and feeling for blood. Belch allowed him to do so, even with his large hands still circling around the smaller boy's upper arms.

Henry laughed loudly as Eddie looked back up at him. He still held the knife. There wasn't blood on it. Eddie wasn't hurt. Maybe Henry had no intention of actually stabbing him. He was just trying to scare him. After all, even with Henry acting like a total psycho, surely even he knew murder was a big deal.

"Gimme that." Patrick grabbed the knife from his friend and stepped up very close to Eddie, who shrunk down again and stared up with wide eyes. "I got an idea for a game we can play."

"Oooooh." Belch laughed from behind him, squeezing his hands hard around Eddie's arms. "Sounds fun."

Eddie swallowed nervously, leaning back as much as possible as Patrick brought the knife slowly up toward the smaller boy's throat.

"We're gonna give you a task... and if you do it, you don't get cut." Patrick grinned evilly. "If you don't cooperate, I'll slice you open. Okay?"

Eddie couldn't stop shaking. His heart pounded in his chest. He felt cold and out of breath. He couldn't bring himself to do anything but stare up at Patrick with wide eyes as he tried to hold as still as possible. He could feel the cold blade of the knife resting against his throat. The last thing he wanted was to move or flinch and cause Patrick to cut him.

"Okay?" Patrick repeated, pressing the cold blade of the knife harder against Eddie's throat.

"Yeah." Eddie finally squeaked, his voice so small even he himself could barely hear it.

"Good. We'll take turns giving you directions. Remember, you do what we ask, or you get hurt... Henry, what do you want him to do?" Patrick quipped.

"Hmmm..." Henry narrowed his eyes as he stared at Eddie, then looked around himself. Eddie couldn't guess what he was looking for. Not until he bent down and collected a handful of dirt and crunched up leaves. "Eat this." He smirked.

Eddie stared breathlessly. He couldn't do that. He just couldn't. "A-are you serious?" He breathed, feeling himself shiver.

"Yeah. Very. Eat this, or you get cut." Henry shrugged, raising his hand palm-up toward Eddie's face.

Eddie turned his head, exhaling a shaking breath. He couldn't do it. It was full of germs, maybe bugs... Not to mention it was so dry and awful that it would probably choke him, trigger an asthma attack... maybe even kill him. He couldn't breathe right even now in his state of fear and dread. Add a bunch of dry, scratchy leaves and debris to the mix? He'd die for sure.

"Do it, Girly Boy. This is the last time I'm asking." Henry growled, no longer sounding as amused as he brought his hand closer so that the dusty debris tickled Eddie's chin.

He could smell the old dried leaves, the earthy smell of the dirt as he shook his head, squeezing his lips shut tight and closing his eyes. Eddie shook his head, hoping Henry wouldn't actually stab him for this.

"Fine." Patrick breathed, grabbing Eddie's arm under Belch's hand and pulling up one of his t-shirt sleeves.

Eddie's chest felt cold as he tried to pull his arm free and looked down in time to see Patrick pressing the knife against his skin, dragging it in a white-cold, stinging line across his arm.

Eddie couldn't help but to scream as he watched red rise up under the blade, taking a second to start dripping down his arm. "Stop!" He screamed, trying to pull his arm away.

Patrick laughed, but he did stop, leaving just the one cut dripping blood down the smaller boy's arm.

Eddie breathed out a shaking, frantic breath as he watched the blood flow, dripping onto the dirt and leaves below.

"Give me him." Henry growled, grabbing Eddie from his friend and dragging him down to the ground. "You're gonna eat it anyway, faggot."

Eddie whimpered and squeezed his lips shut tight, shaking his head and grabbing toward his injury as Henry forced him face-down against the forest floor. He cried out in pain as he felt Henry's knee pressing against his back to hold him down.

The older boy grabbed one of his arms and twisted it behind him as he used his other hand to grab up another fist-full of dirt and leaves, even some small twigs. "Eat it." Henry growled, shoving his hand over Eddie's mouth, both stifling his screams and succeeding in forcing some of the dry debris into his mouth.

As Eddie struggled to breathe, he felt some of the dirt particles going into his nose as well, making breathing even more impossible, and causing panic to grip him even tighter. He couldn't breathe. He gagged and gasped more, breathing in even more dirt, coughing and sputtering as he tried to spit out the dirt and dried leaves already in his mouth.

"Have some more, Girly Boy." Henry laughed, grabbing up another hand of forest floor debris and shoving it against Eddie's face.

"S-" Eddie tried to speak between Henry's assaults. "St-stop!" He choked, gagging at how disgusting this was, but also finding it almost impossible to actually breathe anymore. What if they accidentally killed him?

"A growing boy like you needs some good nutritious, organic snacks like this." Henry laughed, shoving more dirt up against Eddie's face.

He squeezed lips shut tightly, closing his eyes as well. They burned now, as particles of dust and debris had managed to find their way in. He felt his eyes watering as his nose and throat burned.

"Open up." Henry laughed as Eddie struggled to breathe through his nose. The dirt was there too, stinging his nostrils, making breathing next to impossible.

Henry finally moved his hand back, letting Eddie spit and gasp ragged, pained breaths. He could barely breathe. His lungs felt even worse than his most extreme asthma attacks. He felt tears spilling from his eyes as Henry let go of his arm, allowing Eddie to try to grab for his inhaler, which was presently squished between Eddie's body and the ground, nestled in the clean security of his fanny pack.

Eddie felt Henry lift his knee up from his back, letting the smaller boy roll over enough to reach weakly for the zipper of the fanny pack, grasping desperately toward his inhaler. His fingers were shaking so badly he could barely manage to grip it, but it didn't matter. As soon as he finally did manage to grab it, one of the older boy's snatched it away.

"Please!" Eddie gasped, trying to open his eyes enough to see who even took it. During the ordeal, dirt had managed to get into his eyes too. It hurt horribly just to open them. "I ca- I can't breathe..." He gasped, squeezing his eyes shut and coughing painfully. His throat felt so tight.

He heard laughter from the older boys. Someone nudged his arm with their foot. He flinched as he wheezed in painful, limited breaths, breaths which stung and burned as tears streamed down his cheeks. He heard the sound of someone spitting, but couldn't tell if it hit him or not.

Eddie gagged, feeling like he was going to throw up, but only managing dry, pained coughs as he grabbed at his throat, trying to wordlessly plead with his bullies to give him a break here - to at least allow him to breathe during this.

"Next time you do what we say." Patrick laughed. "You're next, Belch. What do you want him to do?"

xxxxxx


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey. I often write a "test-story" for new fandoms before I jump fully in, and for IT, this is it... I'm enjoying writing these characters and hope you guys have been enjoying reading what I've written. As I post this one (what will end up being a relatively short 5-chapter story,) I've begun working on another, similar story... I won't give precise details just yet, but if you like this one, I'm quite sure you'll like my next one. It's going to be a lot longer, a lot more traumatizing... If you're into that, I think it'll be your cup of tea.
> 
> Just thought I'd let you guys know... I've got four chapters written (out of order though, as I have a rough outline and am not going in order yet...) but it should be at the very least twice as long as this one will be. Stay tuned, and thank you for your support.

xxxxxx

Chapter 2

xxxxxx

Eddie continued gasping, coughing, trying desperately to breathe as he weakly crawled blindly away. Tears streamed down his cheeks from his irritated eyes and his throat and nose burned horribly. He was wheezing such pained, desperate breaths that he felt like he might pass out, like he might literally die here on the ground. He wondered if the Bowers gang truly would allow him to die. They'd never flat-out tried to murder any of the Losers Club yet - not that Eddie was aware of... Maybe they didn't realize how bad it was, how much Eddie was struggling right now.

"H-elp..." Eddie managed to squeak in a ragged, weak voice as he crawled what he hoped was away from the bullies. "C-can't br-breathe..." He gasped, letting small, terrified sobs choke their way up and out of his mouth. Even his sobs were strained and painful. "Plea-" He cut himself off with another fit of breathless gagging.

He heard Henry and Patrick laughing nearby. He felt like his world was growing even darker than his closed eyes already made it. His lungs felt shriveled and stuck closed. So did his throat. He wasn't getting enough air. He was going to pass out soon, and if these violent bullies didn't take it seriously, they'd leave him on the ground and he'd die.

"Make him lick the bottom of your shoes, Belch." Henry laughed. "Or spit in his mouth. Make him drink it."

Eddie sobbed shakily as he grabbed at his throat, wheezing painfully. He felt like only about 5% of the air he was trying to breathe was making it to is lungs. It wasn't enough. He was going to die here... If they didn't let him have his inhaler, he would suffocate and die.

"Or rub his dick in the dirt. Give his little baby cock an infection. A nasty, pus-filled infection." Patrick laughed. "Shove poison ivy up his ass. I can find a long stick and ram it up there really far. Break it off in his ass. Cut his balls off. Shove 'em down his throat."

"Jesus, Patrick." Belch sounded like he was frowning.

Patrick just laughed. Eddie hoped he was joking.

"Let's make sure we don't kill him first and foremost..." Belch suggested.

Eddie felt and heard foot steps approaching, then felt a hand on his arm. "No!" He sobbed, tugging his arm away as he continued wheezing painfully. "Please let me go..." He choked.

"Come here." Belch exhaled as he grabbed Eddie's arm.

"Don't touch me!" Eddie cried, trying to pull away from the larger boy as he continued choking on the dirt he'd inhaled.

"I'm trying to help you, dumbass." Belch spoke.

Eddie shook his head. He didn't believe that. But Belch's grip was tight as he pulled Eddie backward, forcing him onto his back and holding him there against the ground with a fist gripping the front of his shirt.

Eddie flinched and brought his hands up to defend himself as he felt the older boy's hands on his face.

"Stop moving." Belch demanded, running his fingers over Eddie's face, seemingly trying to brush some of the dirt out of his eyes, away from his mouth and nose, before pulling him up into a sitting position, and pressing something up against his lips.

"No!" Eddie turned his face away, sobbing in fear and pain as he gagged at the taste of the dirt, at the knowledge that his mouth was filled with terrible germs. He coughed and sucked in a pained, ragged breath. "Please stop!" He cried, shrinking down as much as possible. He didn't know what Belch was doing. He still couldn't bring himself to open his eyes. It hurt too much.

"Hold still." The older boy growled, grabbing a fist of Eddie's hair in his hand and forcing him not to turn his head as he pressed the unknown item back up toward Eddie's lips. It felt smooth and cold. Like plastic... Like his inhaler.

Eddie finally forced his stinging eyes to open, looking around at the three larger, blurry figures surrounding him. Henry and Patrick stood a few yards back. Belch was kneeling right next to him, pressing his inhaler against Eddie's lips. Eddie didn't bother questioning why Belch was allowing him to use the inhaler. It didn't matter. He just wanted to be able to breathe again.

Eddie closed his eyes as Belch allowed him a few puffs from the inhaler. He still couldn't breathe properly, but it was better than nothing.

"You guys are gonna kill him." Belch frowned.

Eddie felt himself trembling as his breaths evened out as much as possible. His still-flowing tears and frequent blinking allowed him to see a little better too as he remained sitting, shaking on the forest floor, looking between the bullies, wondering what they were going to do to him next. It was highly likely Belch only gave him the inhaler so he wouldn't die right then and there - only so they could torture him longer.

"You're no fun." Patrick laughed. "But I guess you're right. Don't want our little toy dead before we're done playing."

Eddie swallowed nervously as he watched Belch stand back up, then looked back over toward Patrick and Henry. Henry was wiping the dirt off his hands onto his pants. Patrick was simply staring down at Eddie, with narrowed eyes, as though deep in thought.

"Take off your shirt." Patrick suddenly demanded.

Eddie tried to swallow, his dry, scratchy throat making it almost impossible. He felt his whole body shaking as he struggled to even out his breathing. "W-what?" He whispered, unsure if he heard the other boy correctly.

"Take off your shirt. And your pants." He repeated. "And your socks..." He laughed. "And your tighty whities... Take it all off. Get naked."

Eddie felt more tears welling in his eyes and his lip trembling. His chest felt cold and empty. He was so scared.

"Take off your clothes. Now." Patrick growled, taking a step forward.

Eddie shrunk back, coughing painfully and shaking his head as tears rolled down his cheeks. What was Patrick going to do? Was this just a joke? To make Eddie feel embarrassed? Was he just wanting to humiliate him, or would he hurt him too?

Eddie was still young. He didn't know all the graphic details of sex... But he wasn't completely naive, and he knew some really awful people out in the world could derive pleasure from hurting someone by forcing a sexual act on them. It was a real thing that happened to real people, and if anyone in Derry were the type to want to do that to someone, it would be these guys.

"Come on, man... Don't be sick..." Belch forced a nervous laugh as he looked quickly from Eddie up toward Patrick.

Patrick ignored his friend and maintained focus on Eddie. "Take off your clothes so I don't have to do it myself." He demanded in a low, cold voice. "If I have to do it, I'm gonna hurt you... Really fucking bad."

Eddie's eyes darted from Patrick to Belch, silently begging the largest of the Bowers gang to help him out here. Clearly Belch didn't see the humor in this that his friend did. Eddie wordlessly shook his head as he and Belch locked eyes.

"Fine." Patrick growled. "Help me out, Henry." He lunged toward Eddie, who screamed and thrashed under his hands.

"Let go! Don't touch me!" He begged, his voice shaking with tears, his breaths becoming more frantic, more painful. "Please!"

He heard both Henry and Patrick laughing as their hands grabbed him. Someone snatched at the bottom of his shirt and wrestled it up over his head, tossing it to the side as Eddie wrapped his arms protectively around himself and sobbed.

"Please stop!" Eddie whimpered, swatting desperately at their hands as he tried to crawl back. "Don't!"

Henry swung out a harsh punch against the side of Eddie's head, causing his vision to swim. He grabbed the smaller boy's wrists and slammed them harshly against the ground, holding them there with bruising hands.

Meanwhile Patrick ran his hands down Eddie's chest and toward the waist of his shorts, laughing loudly, crazily.

"Guys!" Belch cut in, grabbing Patrick's shoulder. "What the hell... Why don't we just push him around? Trip him, kick him... Like normal stuff. This is kinda gay..."

Patrick shrugged away from his friend's hand and grabbed at the waist of Eddie's shorts.

"We're teaching him a lesson. We're fucking with him. It's not gay." Henry laughed as he pushed Eddie back against the ground and held him there, wrapping his hand threateningly around the younger boy's throat.

"Please!" Eddie gasped, staring directly at Belch, the only one of the three who seemed at all uneasy about this. "Don't let them do this." He breathed in and out increasingly frantic breaths as he shook his head. "Please don't let them hurt me... Not like this..." He trailed off.

"Guys, stop... Let's just kick him around or something..." Belch frowned, still staring down at Eddie.

Eddie whimpered and let out a choked sob as he felt Patrick tug his shorts and underwear down to his knees.

"Patrick!" Belch growled. "Fucking stop! Henry, this is fucking gay as shit. Make him stop."

Now Henry was frowning too as he looked over at Patrick, maybe wondering what Belch was wondering, if this was going too far even for them. Humiliation was one thing... This felt like something even worse.

"I'm just fuckin' with him." Patrick insisted with a nervous laugh. "Scaring him..."

Henry for once seemed legitimately stunned. He looked from Patrick, down toward Eddie's shorts bunched around his knees, then up into Eddie's eyes.

Eddie couldn't help but to choke out a frantic, terrified sob as he squeezed his eyes shut. He felt so exposed. So embarrassed and hurt. He was so scared. What was Patrick planning to do to him? Would the others let him? "Please let me go!" He choked out between frantic breaths and pained sobs.

"Look at his little dick." Patrick laughed, grabbing Eddie's thighs in hard, bruising hands and pinning them roughly against the ground. "How old is this kid? Like seven?"

"He goes to the middle school. Gotta be at least twelve." Henry guessed. "But he is fucking tiny. I mean, not just his baby dick, but all of him. Little bitty kiddo." He laughed. "Weak little Girly Boy. I mean, it's hardly even gay at this point, right?"

Eddie squeezed his eyes shut and pulled at his arms, which Henry gripped tightly again.

"Let's turn him over." Patrick suggested. "We'll find out how much of a girl he is."

"No! Please!" Eddie sobbed, trying to pull his arms or legs free. He felt cold where his clothes should have been. He was so embarrassed.

"Uh... I think we scared him enough." Henry forced a laugh, clearly not wanting to accuse Patrick of being gay, but also expressing his own discomfort at the taller boy's current actions. "Let's just leave him here. We'll take his shirt and shorts. Make him walk home in just his underwear." He laughed. "That'll be funny."

"No." Patrick growled, pulling Eddie's clothing further down his legs and grabbing his ankles in an effort to twist him around onto his front. Henry didn't do the same with his top half, but did let go of Eddie's wrists and held him down against his chest instead.

Eddie choked out pained gasps as he moved his hands down to cover himself. "Please!" He sobbed. "Please don't!"

"Jesus Christ, Patrick. Stop..." Belch said again.

"He can take it." Patrick sounded mad. "This is no different than anything else we do to these little runts." He reached up and grabbed Eddie's arm, trying to flip him over.

"Patrick, don't." Belch demanded, squatting down and putting his hands on Eddie's shoulders, holding him down against the ground. "You can't do that..." He shook his head. "He's tiny... We're in high school. He's just a kid. Just... Don't. We can fuck with him and embarrass him. Kick him, spit on him... Whatever... But not that..."

"Fine... Here's what we're gonna do." Patrick breathed, grabbing under Eddie's arms and hauling him up. "I won't do anything that'll leave lasting damage. You may look like a little girl, but he's right. You don't have the right parts for that."

With shaking hands, Eddie reached down toward his shorts and underwear, trying to pull them back up. He got them about half-way up his thighs before Patrick's hand slamming across the side of his face sent him reeling back toward the ground with a pained wince.

"Leave 'em pulled down." Patrick demanded. "I wanna see if I can get your little dick hard if I fuck you in your mouth."

Eddie whimpered, shaking his head as silent tears streamed down his cheeks.

"Get him back up." Patrick growled. His friends remained still though. He had clearly crossed a line the others were unsure about.

Eddie breathed in and out shaking, pained sobs as he reached down and pulled his shorts and underwear the rest of the way up and curled himself into a ball on the ground, no longer caring that he was lying in dirt.

"Get him on his knees, damn it!" Patrick screamed.

Eddie choked out another terrified sob. "Please don't!" He whimpered.

"We could all piss on him!" Henry laughed, grabbing Eddie's arm and dragging him up off the ground. "Right on his face. Mouth open... Rinse out some of that dirt..."

Eddie shook his head and tried to cower down as Henry dragged him to is knees. Patrick then leaned down very close, right up close to his face, grabbing his hair and holding it tight to force the younger boy to look at him. "Suck my dick and we won't do anything else." He breathed.

With shaking breaths, Eddie frowned up at the older boy. Was he serious? These bullies had done all sorts of mean things to him and his friends over the years, but never that. It was clear Patrick at the very least wanted Eddie to believe he'd do it... but would he really?

"If you don't suck my dick, I'll cut your throat. We'll do everything I just said and more... And then we'll fucking kill you. Unless you suck my dick." Patrick added with raised eyebrows and a smirk as he reached down and unzipped his pants.

"No!" Eddie quickly jumped to his feet, standing for a brief moment on wobbly legs before taking off running. Unfortunately, Patrick was faster. He caught him before he even made it five steps, tackling him roughly to the ground.

Eddie's ears were filled with the sound of his own breathless, wheezing sobs as he squirmed and thrashed under Patrick's body, while the older boy pinned him down, grabbing his throat with one hand and between his own legs with the other.

"Keep fighting you little prick." Patrick growled, stroking himself over his pants and squeezing his other hand around Eddie's neck. "I like it." He grinned evilly.

Looking down at Patrick's hand, then back up at his face, Eddie exhaled a shaking, terrified breath. "Please let me go!" He sobbed.

"I know you're trying to scare him, but god damn." Henry laughed. "Let's just piss on him and break his fingers or something."

"Hold him on his knees. I'm gonna make him suck my dick." Patrick glared, standing up and dragging Eddie along with him shoving him hard toward Henry. "He's a germophobe and a faggot. It'll be funny."

Eddie shook his head and whimpered out a panicked sob. "You can't..." He breathed. "Please don't do this..."

"He's right, Pat. That's too gay. We can't make him suck our dicks. Besides, he'll probably bite us." Henry laughed, shoving Eddie really hard down toward the forest floor.

Eddie landed against the ground with a thud, immediately curling himself into a tight ball. He didn't want to be here. He wanted to be literally anywhere else in the world. He covered his head with his arms and hands and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Dude... Is that a fucking hard on, Patrick?" Henry's voice wondered, sounding more disgusted than amused. "You getting off on this?" Eddie pulled himself into a tighter ball, ignoring the pain in his ribs.

"No!" Patrick growled.

"You gay for this little faggot?" Henry laughed, kicking Eddie's foot.

Eddie whimpered again, squeezing his eyes shut tight.

"I'm not fucking gay. I'm not doin' this for me. I'm just trying to hurt him." Patrick insisted. "If I was gay, it wouldn't be for this miserable little fucking queer."

Eddie gasped a pained breath as he felt a foot connect with his back, kicking him so hard it knocked the breath completely out of his lungs.

"I was embarrassing him, you fuckers." Patrick went on. "Making him show us his humiliatingly tiny dick. Making him feel like shit. You know for a fact he's scared shitless of that..."

"Yeah..." Henry noted. "I guess so... Might be kind of funny to watch him gag on your dick."

Eddie tried to crawl away as he choked out pained, shallow breaths. Belch still had his inhaler. He wanted it back. He needed it back.

"That's all I was doin' you faggot." Patrick growled as he lowered himself down to Eddie's level, straddling the younger boy as he pinned both of his arms down against the dirt. "You wanted me to fuck you though, didn't you?" He panted, running his hand down Eddie's bare chest and grabbing harshly between his legs.

Eddie inhaled a sharp breath as he flinched, trying to shrink away from Patrick's groping hand. "Please!" He gasped.

"Please what? Jerk you off?" Patrick laughed. "'You'd like that, wouldn't you? Fuckin' queer."

"Let me go!" Eddie sobbed as he felt Patrick squeezing his hand over Eddie's shorts, between his legs. It was embarrassing, just like Patrick said he was aiming for... And it hurt. "Stop! Please!" Eddie begged.

"Hey!" A familiar voice called from somewhere nearby. Was that Richie? Eddie's ears were ringing. He could barely hear anything but his own frantic breaths and pounding heart... but that sounded like Richie. "Get the fuck off of him!"

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	3. Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

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Richie's heart pounded as he observed the scene before him. Eddie had been right to be worried about walking home alone... and Richie had been right to second-guess allowing his friend to do so. He wished he would have just skipped detention from the beginning and insisted he and Eddie take any other route home but this one.

The younger boy had made it about half-way down the worn, dirt path in the woods, which meant he'd made it most of the way home without incident... But that wasn't good enough. What Richie saw now made him forget to breathe.

Eddie was lying on the ground, sobbing, panting desperate, strained breaths. His shirt was off, lying on the ground a few yards away. Patrick was on the ground with the smaller boy, practically sitting on top of him, holding him down with a hand around his neck, doing something Richie couldn't see with his other hand - but whatever it was, it made Eddie scream, made him beg the older boy to stop.

Henry stood nearby, smirking, his raised eyebrows making him look both amused and slightly confused. He held a knife, which Richie could swear had a tiny tint of red on its blade.

Belch stood on Eddie's other side. He didn't even smile. He didn't look like he thought this was funny... But he did hold Eddie's inhaler in his hand, obviously keeping it out of the smaller boy's reach as Eddie wheezed and gasped on the forest floor below.

"Leave him alone!" Richie yelled, quickly rushing over to his friend's side. He didn't even leave himself a moment to consider jumping right into this might not be the best idea, that it might be a lot more logical to run and get help rather than to get himself caught up in the exact same situation he was trying to save Eddie from.

"Girly Boy's lover finally made it!" Henry laughed, pocketing his knife and grabbing Richie before he could made it to Eddie's side.

"Get off of me!" Richie growled, thrashing in Henry's grip. "Let him go you gross fucker!" He screamed at Patrick.

Patrick just laughed, grabbing his hand around Eddie's neck and squeezing as he looked over at Richie with a excited smirk and an evil glimmer in his eyes. Eddie let out a soft, strangled whimper as he squeezed his eyes shut. He reached up and clawed at Patrick's hands around his throat, trying but failing to free himself.

"He can't breathe!" Richie cried, struggling even harder in Henry's grip. "Stop!"

Patrick seemed to loosen his grip, if Eddie's strained, wheezing breaths were any indication. He was clearly better able to inhale now, but was definitely still struggling. He needed his inhaler.

Richie looked back over toward Belch again. "Give him his inhaler! Please!" He begged. Belch looked almost disgusted. "You know this wrong... Please..." Richie persisted, trying to appeal to any sense of morality the older boy might have.

"Richie..." Eddie whimpered, now ignoring Patrick's hand around his throat and reaching down toward the older boy's other hand, which Richie finally realized was grabbing him quite roughly between his legs. It looked painful, not to mention humiliating and entirely inappropriate.

Richie felt the breath leave his lungs as he started struggling even more against Henry. "Let go of him, you fucking pervert!" He growled, feeling tears choking him up. Eddie didn't deserve this. Not even a little.

Henry laughed as he squeezed his hands tighter around Richie's arms. "Didn't you hear? Patick's a fuckin' fag now. And I guess he's gonna pop your little girly boyfriend's cherry."

"I'm not a fag, Bowers!" Patrick growled, squeezing both of his hands harshly, causing Eddie to choke out a pained whimper.

"Then stop grabbing little boys' dicks!" Richie screamed, trying to shift the focus onto himself in an effort to spare his friend. Eddie really didn't look like he was doing well right now. "He's a fucking child, you god damned pedophile!"

"Why don't you move over and give him a turn, Patrick. Unless you're too gay to share." Henry laughed, shoving Richie hard so that he connected rather roughly with the ground with a pained wince.

"I'm not fucking gay!" Patrick screamed, squeezing his hands again so that Eddie whimpered in pain. He then balled his hand into a fist and slammed it down against Eddie's ribs. "He's practically a fucking girl anyway... I'm not gay, Bowers!" He insisted again, his voice bubbling with rage.

Eddie let out a pained, choked sob as Richie finally got close enough to grab at Patrick's arm, trying to pull him away from his friend. "Get the fuck off of him!" Richie demanded, unable to avoid being struck when Patrick swung his arm viciously backward, hitting Richie's ribs and knocking him back onto the ground.

"Let him go, Patrick." Henry suggested. "If you're not a fag, stop acting like one. Let Four-eyes have him. You say you're not gay... but you're really into grabbin' this kid's dick..."

"Fine." Patrick shoved Eddie roughly back and stood up. "Go for it, Faggot." He muttered, turning toward Richie and nodding.

Richie let out a shaking breath as he climbed up to his knees and crawled over to Eddie, pulling him up into a hug as the smaller boy let out a pained, terrified sob, clinging to Richie like his life depended on it.

"I'm so sorry, Eds... I'm so sorry..." Richie breathed, hugging him close. He should have never let Eddie walk home alone. The smaller boy all but begged him to come with him. Richie knew he was scared - and not even irrationally so.

"How fuckin' sweet." Henry laughed from behind them. The Bowers gang clearly wasn't done yet. They hadn't left.

"Are you okay?" Richie whispered. He noticed Eddie's arm was bleeding. He was obviously terrified, out of breath, covered in dirt, with tear streaks down his cheeks.

Eddie shook his head no, but couldn't bring himself to answer. Instead, he hugged Richie tighter, burying his face in the other boy's shoulder and continuing to sob and choke out pained, ragged breaths.

"Kiss him." Henry said, earning a hard glare from Richie.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Richie yelled. "All three of you!" He looked from one to the next, noticing Belch still looked a little sick, like maybe this was - for once - actually too far for him to be comfortable with.

They all had a habit of picking on Eddie - if only because he was so small... but it hadn't ever been like this before. They'd shove him around, lock him in his locker, call him names, trip him, knock his books out of his hands... Never whatever this was. Richie wasn't totally sure what they'd done to the younger boy before he got there, but if Eddie's frantic sobs and choked breaths were any indication, it was something really awful. Bowers had quite obviously cut him with his knife at the very least. There was no way anything Eddie said or did could have provoked this response. They were being so entirely needlessly cruel - and to someone who absolutely could never deserve anything close to this. Maybe Belch saw it the same way Richie did - if only a little - that they were being too cruel. That Eddie was the last person on earth they should be hurting for fun.

"Kiss him, Four-eyes." Henry suggested again.

Richie glared back at him, then toward Patrick, who still looked sickly excited. "Let us go..." Richie demanded, hugging Eddie tightly against his chest.

"Not without a show first." Henry smirked.

Richie shook his head. He wasn't going to force himself on Eddie. They couldn't make him. The smaller boy was already terrified and traumatized. No way was Richie going to add to that by playing along with Henry's sick game.

"You gotta give us something, kid." Patrick chimed in. "Make him suck your dick or something..."

Eddie, still sobbing breathlessly, hugged himself tighter against Richie's chest, clearly no longer even wanting to look in the direction of the other boys. He seemed to be trying to disappear entirely. Richie wished he could grant him that, to teleport them both the hell out of here.

"Pull down his pants and jerk him off, or I'll hold you back while Patrick rams him up the ass." Henry threatened with a maniac laugh. "You can watch if it'll get you off... which I'm guessing it might. If you won't fuck him yourself, I'll just let Patrick do it. Is that what you want?"

Eddie continued sobbing, hiding his face entirely as Richie hugged him closer. Richie wasn't even sure how much of this Eddie was hearing anymore. It was for the best that he didn't know what the other boys were saying though. It would only scare the hell out of him worse.

"You'd love that, wouldn't you, Faggot?" Henry went on. "Watching Patrick just fuck him 'til he bleeds? I'll bet he'd love it too. Startin' to think everybody here but me is a fuckin' gay fag. Maybe not Belch." He laughed. "Patrick sure is. He'd fuck your boy here to death if he got the chance. Wanna let him go for it?"

Richie hugged Eddie tighter, feeling the smaller boy shivering under his arms as he continued crying breathless sobs. Maybe he was hearing all this. He certainly seemed completely fucking terrified, obviously with a very good reason.

"I'm not gonna ram him up the ass, you fuckin' queer!" Patrick screamed, suddenly shoving Henry quite hard.

"Watch it, Faggot! You're the one trying to undress him, grabbing at his dick!" Henry shoved him back. "You wanna fuck him so bad, just do it. Maybe it'll be funny to watch his face during it." Henry laughed.

"I don't want to fuck him!" Patrick insisted. "I was gonna make him suck my dick... and make him undress first. To humiliate him. Maybe piss on him or something. If I was gay, I'd suck his dick, right? Not the other way around."

"Maybe." Henry laughed. "Sounds pretty gay to make him suck yours too though."

"Fuck you!" Patrick suddenly tackled his friend with an angry growl.

Richie pulled Eddie closer as he nervously watched their two bullies wrestling on the ground. Maybe now would be a good time to make a run for it.

With a flinch and a sharp wince, Richie shrunk back as Belch stepped into view, his shadow completely enveloping both Richie and Eddie. He hugged his smaller friend protectively against his chest, unsure what Belch was going to do.

"You should run." Belch muttered in a very low voice as he tossed Eddie's inhaler down on the ground next to them. "Go while you can."

Richie exhaled a shaking breath, but grabbed the inhaler, shoving it into his pocket as he dragged Eddie up off the ground. "Come on, Eds. Let's get the fuck out of here. Hurry..." He whispered, nodding slightly toward Belch before taking off, practically dragging Eddie along with him.

He wasn't sure why Belch let them go - maybe he truly did have a conscience, unlike his two friends. He was a bully just like them, but maybe he did have a limit where they did not. Whatever it was, Richie was eternally grateful for it.

"Don't take me home..." Eddie wheezed as he ran next to Richie. His voice shook with sobs. "My mom'll fuckin' flip out..."

"We should go to the hospital." Richie suggested.

"Are you fucking kidding me!? No!" Eddie disagreed. "I don't want to try to explain this... My mom'll find out."

"We'll go to my house then. My parents aren't home." Richie told him. "We'll figure out what to do after we're there. Let's just get there, then worry about it. Okay?"

Eddie nodded slightly, squeezing his eyes shut and whimpering softly.

"We're almost there." Richie breathed, glancing over his shoulder to make sure they hadn't been followed as they made it to his front steps. He shoved Eddie inside first, then slammed the door behind them and locked it.

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	4. Chapter 4

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Chapter 4

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As soon as they were safely inside Richie's house, Eddie sunk to the floor and resumed sobbing, raising his hands up to his face and covering his eyes. His breathing only seemed to be getting worse.

Richie was quick to kneel down in front of him, feeling in his pockets for the inhaler. "Here. Eddie, take a breath." He held the inhaler out, but Eddie didn't seem to notice it. "Eds. I've got your inhaler. Here." He said again.

"Richie..." Eddie gasped. "I-" He cut himself off with a fit of coughing.

Richie frowned, swallowing nervously and moving himself closer to his friend. Eddie had had asthma attacks sort of like this one before. Maybe not this serious. Maybe not this terrifying... but close. Ones where he seemed like he didn't even know how an inhaler worked anymore even though he'd been regularly using one probably since before he could remember.

Putting his hand on his friend's back, Richie held the inhaler up toward Eddie's lips. "I'm gonna press it down, Eds. Just try to breathe." He rubbed his hand carefully on Eddie's back. "Ready?"

Eddie let out a small whimpering noise, but nodded, closing his eyes and trying to breathe in as Richie pressed down on the inhaler to release some of the medicine.

"Did you get any?" Richie breathed, feeling his own heartbeat and breaths quicken as well. What was he going to do if they couldn't get Eddie's breathing under control? How were they going to explain all this? To doctors, Eddie's mom... maybe even to the police... Bowers and his gang would probably literally kill them if they told.

"I d-" Eddie stumbled over his words, opening his eyes and coughing. "I don't kn-" His voice was so shaky. So weak.

"Here... Calm down... Put your hand on my chest. Match your breathing to mine..." Richie's voice shook slightly. "I'm gonna give you another puff with the inhaler... but I think we need to try to breathe without it after that. I don't want to give you too much and make you sick..."

Eddie nodded, placing his shaking hand up against Richie's chest and closing his eyes again.

"Okay. I'm gonna press it down on three." Richie told him, putting the inhaler back up against Eddie's lips. The younger boy's lip trembled as he opened his mouth. "One, two, three. Breathe..."

Eddie inhaled a shaking, painful-sounding breath.

"Good..." Richie rubbed Eddie's back carefully, placing his other hand against his friend's cheek. "Breathe. Just keep breathing. Feel my breaths... Breathe when I do." Richie inhaled and exhaled slowly, having to actually put in a bit of effort to keep his own breaths calm for Eddie's sake.

After a minute of this, Eddie's breaths started to calm down, but the more even his breaths became, the more he looked like he was ready to cry.

"You're okay now..." Richie assured him, rubbing his back and pulling him into a hug. "You're safe. They're gone... This isn't gonna happen again. We'll walk home together from now on."

Eddie shook his head, tears spilling down his cheeks. "We were together..." He whimpered. "At the end. They still wouldn't let us go..."

"Well..." Richie frowned. Eddie was right. If Belch hadn't developed a conscience for once, they'd still be there. And who knows what Bowers and Patrick would be doing to them...

Eddie shrunk down against Richie's chest, bringing his hands up to cover his face as sobs shook his shoulders. "I thought I was gonna die..." He whimpered before his sobs became so loud he could no longer manage to get any more words out.

"I know..." Richie frowned, rubbing his hand gently up and down Eddie's arm. "God... That must have been so fucking terrifying... But you're safe now."

Eddie shook his head again, but didn't say anything else.

"I won't let them hurt you again." Richie promised. "We'll walk as a huge group from now on. The whole Losers Club. We'll all stick together."

Eddie's breaths seemed to be a bit more shaky again. He was still so obviously upset. He was going to end up working himself up to the point of panic again if he wasn't careful.

"Keep breathing, Eds." Richie reminded him. "Slow and steady. Just like me..." He put Eddie's hand against his chest and inhaled and exhaled slowly and deeply. "Slowly..." He said again, holding Eddie's hand in place. "Nice, slow, deep breaths, Eddie Spaghetti. You can do it."

Eddie nodded, closing his eyes and trying to focus on matching Richie's breathing. His hair tickled Richie's chin as he laid his head against his friend's collar and his fingers twitched slightly against Richie's chest, making the taller boy almost forget to keep breathing himself.

Though this was absolutely not an ideal situation, Richie did feel a certain sense of calm just having Eddie so close to him right now. He wanted to protect the smaller boy, forever... There was rarely an occasion when they were so close for so long. Richie wished he could keep Eddie safely in his arms for all eternity, but he knew once the fear of the moment he'd just escaped from was gone, Eddie wasn't going to let Richie hold him and comfort him like this anymore. Not without feeling awkward about it.

"What happened, Eddie? What'd they do?" Richie finally asked in a small voice.

Eddie shook his head and choked a shaking breath, refusing to look at his friend.

"What do you want me to do, Eds... What do I do?" Richie heard his own voice quivering. He wanted to help his friend. He wanted to make Eddie feel anything other than what he was clearly feeling right now.

Eddie was still crying shakily, but seemed to be trying to talk.

"Hm?" Richie leaned in closer, putting his hand on the smaller boy's back. "What do you need? How can I help?"

"Water..." Eddie breathed. "Shower... I gotta wash this off of me... Out of my mouth..."

Richie felt like his heart stopped. Patrick had said something about wanting to force Eddie to suck on his dick. He hadn't done that, had he? Was that what Eddie wanted to wash out of his mouth? Richie just stared at the smaller boy, unable to get himself to ask the question. His ordinarily non-stop voice was actually speechless.

"Just help me get to the bathroom..." Eddie sniffed, finally seeming to calm down as he started to drag himself up to his feet. When Richie didn't move to follow him up, Eddie exhaled. "Never mind. I know where it is..." He started down the hallway.

"Eds, wait." Richie quickly stood up and reached out, grabbing his friend's arm firmly but gently. "You gotta tell me what they did. What do you need to wash your mouth for?"

Eddie stared back at him, his eyes red, tear streaks obvious through the dirt coating his face. He let out a small, insincere laugh.

"Tell me..." Richie whispered.

"Mud." Eddie finally answered, fresh tears brimming his eyes.

Richie frowned. "Mud? Like from the ground?"

Eddie nodded. "Can we talk about it later? I feel disgusting."

"Sure..." Richie nodded. "We'll get you cleaned up first."

"Then I've got to call my mom." Eddie told him. "I'll tell her we've got a group project or something."

"I'll cal her." Richie offered.

Eddie shook his head. "She'll think I'm dead still. If she doesn't hear it from me, she's gonna call the fuckin' police."

"Alright..." Richie agreed. That was probably true. Eddie's mom would assume Richie was standing over her son's dead body, calling and making up lies to avoid the cops as long as possible. She was so fuckin' nuts. It was a miracle Eddie was even almost normal.

Richie exhaled a small breath as he watched Eddie close the bathroom door behind him. A part of him wanted to ask the younger boy if he needed help. A part of him wondered if Eddie would think that was a weird thing to ask. Was it weird? Eddie was clearly hurt, clearly very upset. They were friends. Richie cared about him. It wouldn't be insane for Richie to offer him help, or for Eddie to accept it.

Pressing his hand up against the door, then leaning his forehead against it, Richie listened as Eddie turned the shower on. He heard the curtain open and close.

"I'm gonna go find you some clean clothes!" Richie called out.

"Okay!" Eddie called back.

Richie swallowed. "Be right back!" He yelled through the door.

"Thanks, Rich!" Eddie yelled back.

Richie closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the door, feeling tears welling up in his own eyes, threatening to fall. He felt so god damn bad. Eddie didn't want to walk alone... Richie left his friend in the hands of those violent, cruel psychos, and for what? For detention? A detention he only stayed in for all of ten minutes, by the way. He'd ended up worrying too much about Eddie and left anyway. He abandoned Eddie so he could go to detention and not get into more trouble... and he didn't even manage to do that. He let Eddie walk home all alone for nothing.

Of course, Richie didn't regret at all his decision to finally leave and go after Eddie. After all, if he hadn't, something much, much worse could have happened. Late was better than never. Saving him half-way through whatever terror he was suffering was better than not saving him at all.

Richie's throat felt tight as he tried to keep his tears from falling. What all had the older boys done to Eddie before Richie got there? He had that horrible bloody gash on his arm. Was he seriously hurt anywhere else? Had they stabbed him? Broken any bones?

Eddie's shirt was off when Richie got there. Henry and Patrick were both talking an awful lot about whether or not Patrick was gay, vaguely mentioning - and hell, even not-at-all-vaguely mentioning sexual acts - threats against Eddie... And Eddie seemed so fucking scared. Had they hurt him? Did Patrick manage to hurt him like that before Richie got there?

Richie thought back to the moment he found Eddie in the woods. The younger boy was crying - not even soft, frightened cries... No... Those were frantic, terrified, heartbroken sobs. Eddie was completely devastated. Completely fucking horrified. He was scared for his life.

Patrick had been looming over him, bent down, crouching, pinning the younger boy to the ground... Richie couldn't see both of the older boy's hands at the time, but he'd done something that made Eddie cry out. He knew now that it was something humiliating, terrifying, heartbreaking...

Eddie had a ten minute head start on Richie. Ten minutes for the older boys to do whatever they wanted to him. Ten minutes didn't seem like a lot, but when someone was hurting you, it could feel like an eternity. All three of the older boys could have hurt Eddie in any number of ways before Richie got there. Belch seemed disgusted by the situation. The other two didn't. Had they done something terrible to him?

Eddie had said he had to wash mud out of his mouth. How had that happened? How on earth would Eddie wind up with mud in his mouth?

Richie frowned as he stared ahead at the wall of the hallway. He pictured in his head an image of Patrick shoving Eddie down face-first against the ground, of Eddie screaming and crying, accidentally getting residue from the forest floor into his mouth as he gasped desperate, fearful breaths.

The fact that Patrick seemed so preoccupied with hurting Eddie sexually made Richie's blood run cold. Patrick may have shoved Eddie face-first against the ground specifically to hurt him like that. That was all Richie could think of - the only reason he could rationalize that Eddie would have ended up with mud in his mouth.

Richie felt tears stinging his eyes. He didn't want to picture it in his head, but he couldn't help it. Eddie was on the ground, sobbing with Patrick on top of him when Richie got there. Whatever the older boy did before Richie arrived, it had to have been awful for Eddie to be that devastated by it.

He couldn't help but to imagine in his mind, images of Patrick's cold, hard hands holding Eddie down, pressing the back of his head so that his face was against the ground, pinning him there while he sexually abused him.

Eddie was so small. He'd be the perfect target for something like that. He could barely fight back. He was more likely to just give in and take it to avoid being hurt worse. Richie himself would probably fight to the death if someone tried to do that to him. He could picture Eddie closing his eyes and dissociating instead as long as his abuser promised not to hurt him. Eddie was such a gentle, scared boy. His mother wanted to believe he was delicate and fragile because of medical conditions that he may or may not have even had... But whether he was legitimately sick or not, Eddie was indeed tiny, easy to push around... He was timid, scared, very likely willing to let someone abuse him if he perceived the alternative as something more painful.

Richie thought back to Belch's strange behavior. He looked like he was completely disgusted... maybe Patrick had done something so terrible, so graphic, that it was too much for Belch. He had witnessed whatever it was, and whatever it was had him feeling sick enough that it showed. Then he straight up told Richie and Eddie to run.

Belch went along with so much sick, twisted shit that his friends did. Whatever they did to Eddie that made the older boy that willing to betray his friends and just let Richie and Eddie go must have been terrible.

Richie felt his lower lip tremble as he looked down at himself. He had obvious red stains on his shirt - quite a bit of it actually, all over one sleeve and his chest. Smudged dark red. When he had grabbed up Eddie off the forest floor, he didn't even stop to worry about not getting the smaller boy's blood all over him.

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the door again. He inhaled and exhaled, blinking back unshed tears. He couldn't break down right now... and he didn't need to. Eddie was fine.

Richie wished he could have been there with his friend to prevent this - or even just take some of the anger of their bullies in Eddie's place. He wished things could have been different... but he couldn't go back in time. He couldn't do anything but go from here. Eddie was safe now. He didn't seem to be significantly hurt... His breathing was under control. He was safe and locked away in Richie's house... For the moment, things were okay.

Richie gasped and stumbled back slightly as the door behind him opened.

Eddie flinched and let out a small, yelp as the taller boy bumped into him. "I, uh... I didn't know you were still there..." He said in a somewhat breathless voice.

"You okay?" Richie frowned.

"Yeah..." Eddie shrugged. "Thanks for letting me use your shower..."

"No problem..." Richie stared, noticing the tiny water droplets clinging to his friend's skin, on top of what looked like the beginning of bruises up and down his arms. The cut on his arm was still bleeding too - not heavily, but enough that his blood mixed with drops of water were flowing slowly down toward his elbow. Richie's mom was gonna throw a fit if there were blood drops all over her carpet after this.

"Thought you were getting me some clothes..." Eddie whispered, looking down at the floor and forcing a small laugh to gloss over the obvious fear he'd just felt when Richie collided with him.

"Sorry... I forgot." Richie swallowed. "You can come pick some out." He offered, nodding and leading the way to his room.

xxxxxx


	5. Chapter 5

xxxxxx

Chapter 5

xxxxxx

Richie opened his top dresser drawer as Eddie made is way over to the closet. He plucked out the nicest-looking socks he could find, and a newish pair of underwear he'd only worn a few times because they felt too snug on him even the first day he'd worn them. They'd probably fit Eddie better.

"Eds." Richie called his friend's attention, holding up the socks and underwear as Eddie glanced over and smiled slightly, nodding before looking back at the closet.

Richie placed the undergarments on his bed and sat down next to them, watching as his small friend sorted through his clothes, hung neatly by his mom on hangers in the closet. Richie couldn't help but to frown. Eddie wore a towel wrapped around his waist, leaving a lot of skin showing - the same skin as before. Richie had already had the opportunity to collect all the same data he was collecting now - but his mind hadn't been as focused then. Now he saw a huge, darkening bruise on the smaller boy's back. The gash on his arm practically circled the whole limb. It looked kind of deep. It hadn't scabbed over. It seemed to still be bleeding slightly.

"Maybe we should fix your arm first, Eddie." Richie finally spoke up.

Eddie looked over his shoulder with a frown. "Huh?" He asked.

"Your arm." Richie nodded toward it. "Maybe we should bandage it so it doesn't get infected."

Eddie looked down at the cut, the confused expression on his face nearly convincing Richie that maybe the other boy hadn't even realized he was injured there. "Oh..." Eddie spoke in a small voice. "I kind of forgot about that... Yeah... We should fix it."

"I got a first aide kit. Hang on..." Richie made his way back to the bathroom and found the kit. His mom always kept it perfectly stocked, probably not as perfect as Eddie's mom would. They probably had a full pharmacy at their house.

He tucked the kit under is arm and made is way back, smiling slightly when he walked in. Eddie, facing away from the door, was sitting on the floor pulling the socks Richie had given him onto his feet, pulling them as far up his legs as they'd go too. He was already wearing the underwear, which indeed fit him better than they fit Richie.

Clearing his throat, Richie walked into the room, pretending like he hadn't already entered several seconds earlier, and ignoring the fact that Eddie inhaled a sharp breath and quickly grabbed the towel back up to cover himself as soon as he heard his friend. He was wearing underwear already. Richie didn't know what the big deal was. He'd seen Eddie in his underwear before. That's how they always went swimming.

Richie sat down on the bed and patted the mattress next to him. Eddie climbed up off the floor and sat down, draping the towel over his thighs and looking down as though ashamed.

"You're okay now." Richie blurted before he could think of what he wanted to say. He supposed it was a valid thing to say though, even if his mouth had moved faster than his mind.

Eddie forced a small smile and nodded. "I guess so." He spoke in a small voice.

"Can I see your arm?" Richie requested.

Eddie nodded and lifted his arm slightly as Richie set to work.

"So... Do you wanna talk about what happened?" Richie wondered as he knelt down on the floor in front of Eddie and began carefully cleaning the cut.

Eddie swallowed, but nodded slightly. "You can't tell Bill. Or Stan or Mike or anyone else."

"I won't." Richie frowned. "You know they'd be supportive though, right? These assholes have been fucking with all of us for years. They wouldn't like blame you or judge you or anything."

"I know... I just don't want them to know." Eddie continued looking down at his lap.

"Alright. It'll stay between you and me. I promise." Richie agreed.

Eddie nodded, closing his eyes and breathing in and out a shaking breath. "I was walking through the woods... I thought I heard something behind me, but I checked a few times and didn't see anything."

"It was Bowers?" Richie frowned, already knowing the obvious answer to that question as he asked it.

"Yeah." Eddie whispered. "And he had a knife... And he and Patrick said I had to do stuff or else they'd stab me... Like if I did the things they asked, they wouldn't hurt me... But I couldn't..." His voice shook and his eyes brimmed with tears.

Richie swallowed, finishing cleaning the cut and looking up at his friend's face. "What happened?" He whispered. "What did they ask you to do?"

"Bowers grabbed up a bunch of dirt and leaves and told me to eat it." Eddie breathed, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "I told him no... I should have just done it."

Richie felt his shoulders slump. "It's not your fault that any of this happened, Eds. You know that, right? It's not a matter of what you should have done different. They should have left you alone. You're not at fault. Not even a little."

"I know... Just... I should have done it. It would have been easier." Eddie's voice was tiny. Tears welled up in his eyes, threatening to fall.

"So what happened? What did they do when you refused?" Richie asked, both not wanting to hear the answer and needing to know. He started wrapping gauze around Eddie's arm as he waited for his friend's answer.

"He cut me." Eddie whispered, nodding down to his arm. "Patrick did... And then Henry made me eat it anyway. He shoved me down and grabbed up more dirt. He shoved it against my face... It got in my nose and eyes too. I couldn't breathe."

Richie exhaled a soft breath, feeling tears pooling in his own eyes as his throat grew tight. That must have been completely terrifying for the smaller boy - to have three terrible brutes holding him down, forcing dirt into his mouth, probably laughing, maybe kicking, spitting on him, any number of cruel actions... And to top it off, he couldn't even breathe through it. It was more than just gross and humiliating. It was dangerous. They could have suffocated him.

"He kept forcing more and more dirt in my mouth. If I just did it when he asked, it would have been faster... Easier. Not as forceful... He just kept going, really violently. I couldn't breathe, Richie." Eddie whispered. "I was choking and he still wouldn't stop."

Richie stared at his friend with wide eyes. Obviously he knew Eddie made it out of it alive, but even just hearing this re-telling of the story made Richie feel a degree of suffocation himself.

"I tried to reach my inhaler..." Eddie's lower lip trembled as his tears began to fall. "They took it. I couldn't see who. Maybe Belch. He ended up with it eventually, but my eyes were full of dirt and I couldn't see. I just kept choking. I thought I was gonna die."

Richie shook his head as he finished tying the gauze around Eddie's arm. "Oh man..." He breathed. "Those fuckers..."

Eddie let out a soft laugh, but Richie's words weren't meant to be funny. Those fuckers nearly killed his friend. Like legitimately nearly killed him. To force an asthmatic kid to choke on dirt as he wheezes on the ground... to hold his inhaler out of reach and let him go on gasping for breaths... That was more than cruel. It was practically attempted murder.

"Belch I guess didn't want me to die, so he let me use the inhaler eventually. Felt like he took forever though." Eddie forced a breathless laugh. "Don't know if that's compassion or just his way of prolonging my suffering... But as soon as Patrick suggested that I take off my clothes, Belch started objecting. Even fucking Bowers thought that was too much. Kind of." Eddie shrugged.

Richie swallowed and stared, his chest feeling cold. He couldn't even bring himself to ask for more details on that. He just hoped Eddie would continue... and he did.

"Patrick started pulling at my clothes. He took my shirt off and started on my shorts and underwear. He had them part way... Like down past my knees..." Eddie let out another breathless laugh, but he clearly didn't think this was funny. His eyes shined with tears. "I don't even fully remember what happened... They were all arguing... They let go of me enough that I could pull my shorts back up... Somebody kicked me. Patrick wanted me on my stomach, then on my knees. He was grabbing me, trying to turn me over, but the others wouldn't let him. They were all talking about peeing on me... He said I had to suck his dick, but Henry made fun of him. Then Patrick grabbed me and held me down. Grabbed my dick through my pants..." His lip trembled again as tears spilled down his cheeks.

"Eddie..." Richie couldn't help but to reach up and wrap his arms around his friend. "I'm so sorry... I should have walked with you."

Eddie shook his head. "It's not your fault... If the dirt thing isn't my fault, then none of this is your fault either. It's theirs."

"I knew you were scared... I knew these guys were creeps and that they stalk around looking for one of us to be alone. It was reckless of me to let you go alone... I knew you were scared..." Richie said again, feeling tears choking up in his throat.

"Stop, Richie... It's not your fault. And that's all he did anway." Eddie went on. "You got there after that. He didn't even touch me without my clothes on... He just grabbed over my shorts... Squeezed his hand... But he didn't hurt me too bad."

"God, I want to kill him. I want to beat the shit out of him so bad..." Richie growled, hugging his friend tight. "You're never walking home alone ever again."

Eddie laughed nervously. "Maybe I was overly dramatic..." He backpedaled. "I mean, they really didn't hurt me that much... No broken bones... just the one cut... the dirt thing, but I can breathe now. I'm alright. I think I was more scared than anything... I shouldn't have cried like that... It's kind of embarrassing." He looked down, away from Richie's gaze.

Richie shook his head. "No... You're not being dramatic. What they did was totally fucked up. You're right to be scared and upset, Eds."

"I'm weak." Eddie looked down with a pout. "That's why they mess with me. I give them the reaction they want. I'm embarrassing to myself. I'm thirteen years old, Rich... And older kids can make me break down sobbing... trigger a panic attack... just by touching me?"

"Touching you like fuckin' perverts." Richie frowned. "I'm the strongest, bravest motherfucker in our school, and I was scared shitless too. You're not weak just because they're bigger than you. They're the ones that are weak - picking on someone so much smaller than them. There were three of them. One of you... and they're older, bigger... They're cowards for doing what they did, knowing it wasn't a fair fight. Just like beating up a kitten wouldn't make you strong and brave. It'd just make you a bastard."

Eddie smiled and let out a soft laugh. "I'm not a kitten."

"Sure you are." Richie smiled too, reaching out and tapping Eddie's nose. "Cute as hell. Just like a little kitten."

Eddie shook his head and scoffed. "I gotta finished getting dressed." He climbed back up off the bed. "I'll call my mom and ask her if I can stay over... if that's okay."

"Sure." Richie stood from the bed too. "Just don't tell her my parents aren't home."

"Duh." Eddie laughed. "I'm not stupid."

Richie smiled, happy to see Eddie's regular personality returning. Soon this whole ordeal would be a distant memory. "I'll be back, Eds. I'm gonna go find some pajamas. I think my good ones are in the dryer... I'll find some for you too if you want."

Eddie shrugged. "I'm fine with whatever. I'll just find something in here."

Richie nodded and headed out of the room, mostly because he needed to get changed without drawing attention to the fact that the reason he needed to change clothes was because his shirt was stained with Eddie's blood. He didn't want to freak the smaller boy out all over again. He also needed to wash some of that same blood off of his arms. Eddie had been bleeding quite a bit when Richie first found him. Maybe he didn't know that. He didn't realize because he was so focused on everything else.

Richie headed for the bathroom first, throwing his blood-stained shirt in the hamper and washing his arms and face. Hopefully his mom didn't notice the blood... or at least didn't realize it was blood. Worse case scenario, Richie would have to make up a lie about a nose bleed or something.

He then made his way to the dryer, opening it and tossing clothes out of the way onto the floor until he found the pajama shirt he was looking for, complete with matching pants. He left his dirty pants on the floor in front of the washer and changed into the soft pajamas, then headed toward the kitchen. Eddie was probably thirsty after that whole ordeal. Richie sure was, and he hadn't even been forced to eat dirt.

Retrieving two big glasses of water and a bag of potato chips, Richie made his way back to his room. "Brought us some water." Richie noted as he walked in.

"Oh, thanks!" Eddie grinned, taking one of the glasses and drinking almost the entire thing without stopping. He inhaled a deep breath once he was done, placing the glass on Richie's dresser.

"You okay, Eds?" Richie frowned.

Eddie nodded. "Yeah. Just was really thirsty... Dirt'll do that to ya." He laughed nervously. "You should have seen me guzzling down that water in your shower. I just stood under it with my mouth open like half the time I was in there."

Richie forced a small smile and sat down on his bed, leaning back against the head board and looking Eddie up and down. He was wearing one of Richie's favorite t-shirts. It was fit him loosely, making him look even smaller than usual. "You call your mom?" Richie wondered.

Eddie nodded. "She said I could stay. As long as we keep all the doors locked..." He laughed. "For once, I fuckin' agree with her."

Richie forced a laugh too, but it wasn't funny. Eddie was terrified of Bowers and his friends coming back to hurt him again. That wasn't a joke. That was sad. Scary and sad.

"Can I sit next to you?" Eddie asked, looking down at his feet.

Richie quickly nodded. "Of course." He patted the mattress next to him. "You don't have to ask, Eddie Spaghetti. You know that."

Eddie laughed softly, climbing onto the bed next to Richie and immediately laying his head on Richie's shoulder. Maybe that's why he asked this time, because he meant more 'cuddle' than 'sit with.' Eddie didn't normally lean on Richie like that unless he was really tired - half asleep even... doing it without meaning to or realizing.

Richie swallowed nervously and wrapped his arm around Eddie's shoulders, noticing the smaller boy was shivering very slightly. "Eds... Are you cold?" Richie frowned.

Eddie shrugged, but continued shivering. "I'm okay..." He whispered in a small voice.

"We're in a fuckin' bed, man. That's what blankets are for." He reached down and pulled his comforter, which was bunched up near the foot of his bed, up over his and Eddie's legs.

"Thanks." Eddie laughed. "Don't know why I feel so cold..."

"Maybe you're getting sick." Richie guessed. "Or could be shock..."

"Yeah." Eddie let out a breathless laugh and snuggled closer to Richie.

They both simply sat there for a few minutes. Richie was staring ahead, mostly watching the wall in front of him while he could only focus on the warm softness of Eddie's body lying so close to him. Eddie was so delicate - not in the way his mom thought... but just in the way that he was sweet and innocent. He didn't try to be tough, messy, destructive, or chaotic like a lot of boys their age. He tried to be brave when necessary, but he also was quick to just duck out of the way and lie low.

"Do you think Patrick would have really done it." Eddie finally spoke up.

Richie swallowed, frowning down at Eddie, who stared across the room rather than looking back at him. "I don't know..." He managed to squeak in a low voice. He couldn't bring himself to speak the truth out loud. Of course he thought Patrick would have really done it. If Belch and Bowers weren't there making him feel embarrassed by it, yes. He would have. He clearly wanted to, and Eddie was no match for him.

"I think he was really gonna do it." Eddie whispered. "I think Henry would have let him. Belch seemed put off by it... but that's still two to one. He would have done it." Eddie shivered under Richie's arm. "If he had more time. Henry was kind of discouraging him, but not that much. He would have let him."

Richie inhaled a slow breath. He didn't want to think about that possibility. He didn't want to acknowledge how close Eddie had come to being seriously hurt, in a very personal, cruel way. If Richie hadn't decided to ditch detention, if Belch hadn't been there to sort of almost be their ally this time... He didn't want to think of what could have been. He wanted to focus on what was. Patrick didn't do it. Whether he would have or not wasn't certain. What was certain was that he didn't do it.

"He was pretty blunt about a lot of it." Eddie went on. "Maybe I'm just assuming on some of it, but the rest, he spelled out pretty clear. At first I thought maybe he was joking - just trying to scare me..."

"All three of them are fuckin' sick." Richie frowned.

"Yeah... But I'm glad Belch let us go." Eddie noted.

"So am I." Richie agreed.

"'Cuz if he didn't, Patrick would have really hurt us. I mean, even after you got there, he wasn't gonna let me go. He said he was gonna do all that gross, awful stuff to me, and I think he would have if he got a chance." Eddie let out a small shudder and curled closer against Richie's side.

Richie shook his head, hugging his friend tighter, resting his chin on top of Eddie's soft, still damp hair. "It doesn't matter. He won't get another chance."

"I hope not." Eddie yawned, closing his eyes.

Richie frowned as he looked down at Eddie. The smaller boy was quite clearly exhausted. It wasn't even five o' clock and he was completely drained. Fighting against the Bowers gang took a lot out of him... and of course it did. He'd probably never been more scared in his life. Richie sure hadn't. Just seeing his friend in that position scared the hell out of Richie. He felt exhausted too, and he wasn't even the one being threatened with the worse kind of pain. He wasn't the one who couldn't breathe, couldn't move while that awful brute held him down and groped all over him.

Poor Eddie had to have been terrified beyond words. He was scared to walk home by himself... Richie did absolutely nothing about it... and Eddie's worst fears came true. Not only did the bullies corner him - but they did so in a way that was much more personal and horrifying than usual.

He knew it wasn't helpful, but Richie couldn't stop thinking about what might have happened if he didn't go after his friend. Belch was clearly on their side this time - if only because violent sexual assault against a thirteen year old kid seemed a little much to him... but Richie's arrival did shake things up. Belch wasn't pulling Patrick off of Eddie before Richie got there. He wasn't going to make Patrick stop. At least it didn't look that way. Maybe he would have if things got really rough... But maybe he wouldn't have. Going against his two friends would have been a risk.

So then if Richie didn't show up when he did... if Belch didn't have the courage to tell his friends to stop... Patrick would have kept going. Eddie said the older boy had his pants and underwear down at one point. What was that for? The answer was obvious. Disgusting, horrifying, and obvious.

What if Richie had stayed even ten or twenty minutes longer into detention? What if he just took a little longer to decide or walked slower? Patrick had cut Eddie with a knife when he didn't cooperate. Eddie surely would have fought back while they were hurting him. What if they killed him? What if Henry or Patrick got so mad at Eddie's defiance that they actually killed him?

Richie frowned as an image flashed through his mind, of himself arriving at the clearing in the woods too late. Eddie's body bruised, bloody, covered in dirt, lying face-down on the ground... His pants pulled down, stab wounds all over his back, blood coming from his mouth and nose...

Swallowing a lump in his throat, Richie looked down at his friend, who was lying perfectly still, his breaths finally even and peaceful. He was okay. They didn't hurt him too bad. None of the awful could-have-beens were going to happen. It was over, and they weren't getting that chance again.

Richie stuck out his lower lip in a pout and ran his fingers lightly up and down over Eddie's arm. "You awake, Eds?" He whispered softly.

Eddie didn't answer.

Richie blinked back tears as he hugged his friend tight. Once his friends asked him what he was most afraid of... That was a hard question to answer for someone like Richie... He didn't really know at the time, so he'd told them his greatest fear was clowns. Clowns were fucking terrifying... especially lately. That could reasonably have been his greatest fear. He thought so at least.

But that was a lie. His greatest fear was something happening to his friends, especially Eddie, who he had a bond with like none of the others. He felt a fierce need to protect Eddie. The others were more Richie's size, if not bigger. They didn't need him acting like a protective older brother. Eddie did. Eddie was so little and sweet. Richie sort of considered it his duty to look out for the smaller boy. He should have never let him walk home alone. He certainly wouldn't be making that mistake ever again.

"I'm glad you're okay..." Richie whispered, moving his cheek slightly so that Eddie's soft hair brushed against it. He figured Eddie wouldn't hear him anyway, so he might as well be honest. Usually he and Eddie just made fun of each other rather than showing genuine affection, and though perhaps the circumstance called for a bit more honesty than usual, Richie still felt awkward saying any of these things directly to his friend.

"Love you, Eddie Spaghetti." Richie spoke in an even tinier voice, bending down slightly and planting a gentle kiss on Eddie's forehead.

Eddie lazily moved one of his arms over to hug around Richie's stomach as he snuggled closer to his friend, but otherwise remained motionless and silent. Either he was still asleep, or he wanted Richie to think he was. Either way was fine.

With a soft exhale and a genuine smile, Richie leaned his cheek back against Eddie's hair and closed his eyes.

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THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading. My next, much longer story is on its way. I'm in the process of polishing it up. If you liked this one, I'm quite sure you'll like my next one too. Stay tuned.


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